


Swipe Right

by lalez



Series: What if [2]
Category: S.W.A.T. (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24350980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalez/pseuds/lalez
Summary: Well, partly inspired by the season 3 finale and partly by season 1. What if Jim Street had a normal upbringing... would he have met Chris?as of 27.05.2020 expanded first chapter (will be approx 4 chapters in length)
Series: What if [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850047
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, partly inspired by the season 3 finale and partly by season 1. I hope you like this :) As always bonus points if you can spot the line I stole directly from another show I have enjoyed a couple of years ago and recently rewatched ...

_You took your time with the call_ _  
__I took no time with the fall_ _  
__You gave me nothing at all_ _  
__But still, you're in my way_

_Carly Rae Jepsen – Call me maybe_

She remembers the picture on his profile. She had swiped right immediately, the connection instantly but there came no message and her job had kept her busy. It had taken them a while to set this up and the moment she met him in person, had seen that smile she knew she could fall if she weren't careful.

They are sitting in a corner booth next to each other, both nursing their drinks. Smiling glances every now and then. Even in their silence she doesn't feel uncomfortable. There is an electric buzzing in the air, just like it would be before a thunderstorm, but the sky is clear. She indulges herself looking at him, imagining the physique under the fitted shirt. She registers his voice drifting over the table, telling some story about him almost being late to work and being chased by a police cruiser on his bike. She hears her voice asking what he does for a living and the answer surprises her at first but really doesn't.

"I sell cars."

She isn't sure she believes him. But with that smile, _oh god those dimples_ , he could probably sell ice to Eskimos.

She gets momentarily lost in his eyes and takes in his face.

She only snaps out of it when his smile turns into a grin.

"Hey, where have you been right now?"

"Sorry, lost in my work." She sputters out.

His grin softens and turns back into a smile. "Work is hectic, huh?" he moves to pay a fresh round of drinks.

And she tries to figure out when these got ordered. _Wow I must've been really distracted_.

"So, what exactly do you do for a living? You are busy a lot." She hears him ask.

And yes she had to reschedule this date a multitude of times. It surprised her that he still wanted to go on this date after that. She rolls her shoulders and takes a sip of the fresh, cool drink. She never tells guys her _real_ job on the first date. Not if she wants to see them again. She also isn't too sure he was telling the truth. A man that fit… just selling cars?

She turns her body, so she almost faces him directly. "How do you feel about flight attendants?"

She sees the slight widening of his eyes and notices the way he lets his eyes wander over her body. Gotcha buddy.

They have a good time. Flirting, Laughing, Dancing.

Her skin is burning where his fingers touched her bare backside… why did I wear a top with a cutout back?

When it is time to say good night she can see a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes. She has to get home and sleep.

"I am sorry. I have an early morning."

That's not even a lie. And she has her principles. No sex on the first date. She leans up to kiss his cheek and wants to tell him she will text but he is a quick thinker. He turns his head and their lips meet. She feels herself go weak in the knees and has to grab onto his arms to steady herself.

The buzzing of her phone reminds her she needs to get home. She pulls away, takes a step backward, and needs a couple of steadying breaths to compose herself.

"I really gotta go. Text me!" This time she kisses his cheek and forces herself to walk away.

She feels his eyes on her back until she rounds the corner.

At home, after getting ready for bed she sees a new message on her phone:

_Sweet dreams. Jim_

_~~~~~Swipe~~~~~_

He couldn’t help himself. He was disappointed when she cut their night short. He had hoped she would invite him home, but he admired her resolve. She intrigued him. He wanted more and that was why he couldn’t resist turning his head and kissing her. Her _enthusiastic_ response told him he had done nothing wrong. There was something there he wanted to explore.

When he had sent that final message of the night, he made his own way home. Knowing he would sleep and dream of her. He knew she looked good and the fantasy of her in a short, fitted flight attendant outfit was burned into his mind. The way she phrased it made him suspect she hadn’t been telling the truth but her busy schedule said something else. Right now, he only knew one thing for sure: He wanted to see her again.

A couple of weeks pass, and they only managed to exchange few texts. Both of them have been busy and finally found a way to make another date for tonight. He already is excited.

During breakfast he fiddles with his phone. Trying to work out if he should contact her today just quickly to wish her a good day and tell her he is looking forward to seeing her again. Would that make him look desperate? He nixes the idea almost as quickly as it popped into his mind. _She probably is already busy._

His own phone tells him it’s time to get ready and so he grabs his patented leather jacket and makes his way to today’s assignment.

The day had barely started when reports came in about some weapons transport having been hijacked and his day got extremely busy. He had to get a line on these weapons as quickly as possible. The information coming his way was, that somehow the Jamaicans were responsible and had already started advertising their product.

He had to play it safe but aggressive to put himself in the mix. His boss had texted him that it had been weapons from LA and somehow SWAT was coming in for support. That told him it was even worse than he had thought.

Finally, he managed to set up a buy. Just as he was about to call the case detective and liaison to SWAT, he receives a text on his burner: “Sale canceled”

A quick check with his contacts on the streets and at HQ confirms it the crew has gone silent.

He jumps onto his bike and heads back to HQ.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work gets in the way and a second date is finally on the horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This piece got expanded thanks to some nagging I got on ffnet :) Go say thanks there.

_I'd trade my soul for a wish_ _  
Pennies and dimes for a kiss  
I wasn't looking for this  
But now you're in my way_

This day could not have started worse. She had overslept and barely arrived on time for parade. To top it off today's case involved the chaos pose. How these crazy Jamaicans had made the move to LA was still beyond them but at least until a couple of minutes ago, they had a lead on the weapons. Well, the ones not recovered from that idiot gun collector. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She just hoped the case would get wrapped up in time.

She was anxiously looking forward to her date tonight. It had _again_ taken some time to find a free night and she didn’t want to reschedule one more time. She feared he would lose interest then for sure. They were all feverishly looking for a lead when her phone buzzed. _Looking forward to seeing you later._

She couldn’t help the smile that spread on her face, prompting Tan to make fun of her. A quick game of rock- paper- scissors had decided that she had to go back to HQ and do the tech research, sifting through calls and contacts some Long Beach UC had with the Jamaicans and Tan would be the sniper overwatch at the hastily rescheduled sale. That left her with nothing much to do but listen to the action via coms. It sounded like it went down without a hitch. Thankfully, no one had gotten hurt, even though from Tan's complaints it sounded like the UC had gotten a little too cocky and taken a beating for his stupidity. Well, taunting a gun-wielding crazy person was never a good idea.

After debriefing, and a little more complaining from Tan she drove home to get ready. She felt a nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach just thinking about him and their date. She also wanted to be honest. Tell him about her job. Hoping he wouldn’t run or make stupid handcuff jokes. Before leaving the apartment, she gives herself a once over in the mirror and chuckles slightly at herself. Her subconscious had chosen almost the exact same outfit again. _Let’s hope I am not paying for that top choice again._

She is a little early and orders her first drink to calm her nerves. She always carries her shield with her, but right now she actually has it in her hands. Contemplating her decision and how to go about it. She sees him approaching the table and spots the stitches over his right eye immediately.

In one swift motion, she lets the shield glide back into her pocket and gets up to greet him. She can’t help herself, but she kisses him long and deep. Pulling him by his hand to the table and letting her fingers gingerly wander over his bruised face.

“What happened?”

_~~~~~Swipe~~~~~_

He was surprised when she kissed him as a greeting but that told him he had made the right choice in not canceling after the day he had. He let her lead him to a table and savors the tingling feeling her fingers leave on his face. He hears the care in her voice, but there also is a hint of resolve which makes him look up and directly in her eyes. He swallows past the lump in his throat. Her wide eyes studying his face intently make this harder. Since he has no idea who she really is, for now, he has to stick with his story.

“Just a little disagreement about the cost of the product.”

Not a complete lie, he had after all tried to renegotiate the price to buy time for SWAT to move in. He feels her scoot in closer to inspect the bruises again and when her fingers graze the cut on his upper lip, he can’t suppress the hiss.

“I am so sorry. Did that hurt?” she stops and pulls her hands away. He grabs her hands.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do this to me.” He tries to calm her down.

He didn’t want her to worry about him tonight. He wanted to enjoy her company and so he tries to turn the conversation around.

“How was your day? Were you airborne? Any funny stories to tell?”

Her lips curve up into a broad smile. He loves that smile and he would do anything to see that all the time.

“No funny stories. I sat in front of multiple displays today. Just watching and typing. I really suck at rock- paper- scissors.”

That was something he could help her with and make it entertaining too. So, the words left his mouths in an instant

“Oh, so we could play and decide who pays tonight!” he adds a smirk for good measure but resolves the joke the moment her shocked face registers. She swats him lightly in his right shoulder.

“That’s not funny.”

He lets out a small grunt. His shoulder is also bruised, and he sees her open her mouth.

“Stop fussing over me. If it were too bad, I would’ve canceled. I am okay.”

After that, she seems calmer and more relaxed although still a little concerned. He takes his chance to convince her to dance with him again. He can’t deny he enjoys being that close to her and he finally notices her clothing choice when his fingers touch the bare skin on her back _again._

“You like to torture me, huh?” he whispers in her ear before kissing her temple and swaying to the music.


	3. A glimpse of truth

_Before you came into my life_ _  
I missed you so bad  
And you should know that  
So call me maybe_

She was anxious. She had checked up on Jim’s story of having been beaten up at work. She had told herself she just wanted to make sure that the investigation was ongoing and effective. But she couldn’t find any mention of such an incident at anything even remotely car or vehicle-related. It scared her that she still wanted to see him again. Be near him. He was quite intoxicating. Now, after a couple of eventful days was her first one off. Sitting on her sofa debating what to write in her message. She didn’t dare call him or leave a voice mail. She wanted to see his face. She took pride in her abilities to spot the tells of liars. But maybe he hadn’t lied, just not filed any charges because the reason for his beating had been not all legal… She shakes her head to get rid of the dark thoughts.

She grabs her phone again, opens the app, and simply types: “Are you free tonight?”

In her head, she already tries out possible ways of telling him about her own little _white_ lie. Her phone buzzing pulls her out of her imagination. The message on the screen is unexpected. She is expected at HQ asap. It has to be bad if she is being called in on her day off and so she hurries to get ready and to her destination.

When she arrives at HQ her team is already in the locker room.

“What’s going on boss?”

“Seems like the chaos pose had a secondary stash of weapons for sale and we left one of them on the streets.”

“Are we working with Long Beach again?” she asks for verbal clarification, but Tan’s face tells her that’s the case.

“But we are not taking him with us. The Jamaicans threatened to kill him. He stays here until we are through with the last of the crew.” Hondo puts an end to any nagging and joking she was sure would erupt any moment, but Tan gets one last shot in.

“thank god we don’t need to play babysitter for that _idiot_.”

She has to suppress her giggling and hide her grin behind her hands when Hondo shoots her a dark look.

“Let’s roll!” Hondo calls her and the others to attention.

When she hears the office door of the commander open and a familiar figure emerges, she almost gasps.

_That has to be a hallucination._

She shakes her head and hurries into Black Betty. She feels her phone vibrate as she sits down. When she pulls it out, she can see his response on the display:

“I don’t know if I can make it tonight. I’ll get back to you. I miss you.”

~~~~~~Swipe~~~~~~

His night had been horrible. A tip and sheer luck had saved him from the first attempt on his life. His brother had heard that there was still at least one Jamaican out there and out for blood, _his_ blood. An unmarked car had picked him up and dropped him off at SWAT HQ where he had been idling about for what felt like hours until Commander Hicks and Captain Cortez had pulled him into a meeting to discuss their options. He saw the team from last time assemble while he was following the ranking officers upstairs. He can see it in their faces, they are sort of glad he isn’t out there with them and considering the last op he can’t really fault them for that.

The last thing he notes before the meeting is that the team seems to be glancing about, just like they are still waiting on someone.

The _briefing_ is short.

He gets ordered to stay at SWAT HQ and not be in the way. He realizes he probably won’t be able to make his date tonight. And that had been his only light for today. Seeing her again. It was weird. In a way, he wanted to have her here, with him. Even if that meant letting reality crash their little bubble. He wasn’t stupid. Throughout their two real dates and their texting in between and the few calls she actually picked up, he had figured out that she rarely was at airports or places that sounded like ones.

It intrigued him that she had lied. That she has secrets to discover.

For a split second before pressing send on his apology he debates telling the SWAT team that maybe… he shakes his head. No, that couldn’t be. He met her way before the bust on the Jamaicans and if she were with them…. Nope. Just no. His inner voice berates him for even thinking she was involved…

After pressing send on his message he steps out of the office to go find something, _anything_ to do. He glances down and realizes the team has one more man, _woman_ with them. Even with all the tactical gear on it is clear as day that behind all that is an _attractive_ woman. She stops in her tracks for a split second and he swears she looks him straight in the eyes, even if he can’t be sure because of the tactical glasses on her nose. He nixes the thought of familiarity as soon as it pops in his head. If she were a member of the team, she would’ve mentioned it on their last date.

_Right?_

Nonetheless, when commander Hicks asks if he wants to join them in the situation room and listen in, he takes his chance and follows the man. What he hears in there leads him to wait for the return of 20-David.

He needs some answers.


	4. Chapter 4

_I've found a reason for me_ _  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you_

_Hoobastank – The Reason_

_And I've always lived like this  
Keeping a comfortable distance  
And up until now I've sworn to myself   
That I'm content with loneliness   
Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

_Paramore - The Only Exception_

After all the arrests were made and the team sat back in Black Betty she must’ve checked her phone too much. Her teammates stared at her funnily and she felt herself blush a little under all that scrutiny. She didn’t have an answer for them and so she endured the teasing. Somehow, she had expected him to write, to cancel or confirm their date. But nothing. No reaction. Had he not recognized her? She was almost sure she had seen recognition and _surprise_ on his face. She wasn’t sure how to go about resolving this mess and there still was this little piece in her that refused to date a fellow cop. Not after the last debacle.

When the team had arrived at HQ, she still didn’t know what to do about all of it. She just knew that she needed to at least try and find out what this all meant and why he hadn’t told the truth. _He is an undercover… they don’t go around telling people they are police._

When they walk in, she spots him leaning against one of the columns in the main area. Normally she would walk with her team to the gun cage and put her weapons away first. Not this time. She gives in to her fear. She hands Tan her weapons and makes a beeline for the locker room. Somehow him having waited around makes her heart race. She knows they need to talk but not here, not right now and certainly not with her teammates around. She decides to hit the showers to give herself some time to think. Work out how in hell she missed him being a cop. She never even thought about it. _And I even contemplated him being a criminal._ That thought shocks her once more. She had thought about it not being a dealbreaker if he were involved in something not exactly legal. And now? She shakes her head at herself in the mirror. She didn’t know.

She hears her phone buzzing. Somehow, she already knows who the message is from. She moves her head from side to side deciding how to reply to his words. “ _I’d like the chance to talk, explain. If not here, now, or even tonight. Please pick a time, a place, and give me a chance. I don’t want to lose you.”_

Her fingers hover over the screen for a while, before she closes the app and just puts the phone back in her pocket. Even if the message indicates he already left, her eyes dart around the rotunda checking. She needs more time to think.

She drives out to a small, almost forgotten beach bar, orders a beer, and then walks down the sand to the waterline. In the background she can still hear the music softly playing and the crashing of the waves in front of her calm her. She hates herself for second-guessing everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks. She hates that she didn’t realize Tan's newest frenemy and her date were one and the same person. But at the same time, she isn’t sure what she had done if she had figured it out sooner.

She mentally berates herself for acting so childish. She pulls out her phone and sends him a pin of her location with the words. “We should talk. Meet me? I’ll wait.”

_~~~~~~Swipe~~~~~~_

When he sees the team walking back into HQ, he recognizes her instantly. Without the glasses, he is sure it's her. He wants to go over to her and ask all of his questions, so he pushes off the column he has been leaning against and walks in her direction. He sees her making a sharp turn and walk away in a different direction, so he gets _stuck_ talking to her teammates. Congratulating them on a successful bust and thanking them for saving his life. The officers must’ve seen the slight confusion on his face and so he asks, as innocently as he can, about _her._ The grin on the men’s faces tells him whatever is coming next is going to be funny for them at least. “Oh, buddy. Don’t even try. She will eat you alive. Doesn’t date cops on principle” the team leader tells him while patting his shoulder. And the Asian guy, with whom he hasn’t had the best of start simply quips. “Why not? Could be fun watching Chris wipe the floor with him.” All of them laugh, and so he tries to mask his disappointment and his crushed feelings behind a smirk. “I like a challenge.” They don’t need to know what he is feeling inside. Is this the end of _them_? Whatever they were.

He decides it is better to give her some space for now and leaves after a round of goodbyes. Still, he needs to know. He needs to talk to her. Figure out where she stands. So, he shoots her the message to please give him a chance to explain. _As if I am the only one who needs to explain._ He can’t stop his fingers from typing the last sentence and after it is sent, he worries it makes him sound too desperate. To be honest he is scared. He might have found his perfect match and lost it in a single day. Without even having screwed up, just by being a cop.

His heart rate went up sky-high when he read her message and he drove like a mad man to reach the suggested meeting point. He wasn’t sure what the secluded place meant. But he chose to take it as a good sign.

He saw her sitting near the water alone and approached her. Letting himself take in her appearance. She doesn’t react to him walking to her, nor does she acknowledge him sitting down. She seems to be deep in thought and almost jumps when he touches her shoulder in greeting. “Hey.” They both whisper when she has caught her breath again. And somehow for the first time, the silence feels awkward.

After a while, he decides he needs his answers. He turns his body so he faces her. “You are one dangerous flight attendant. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

He can see a smile forming on her face and if he isn’t mistaken she just rolled her eyes. Her voice is filled with a burst of underlying laughter. “ Can you imagine the handcuff jokes I hear? “ After a short pause in which he just nods his head she continues. “It’s kind of ironic. I wanted to tell you last time but scrapped that plan when you walked in covered in bruises. I wasn’t at the sale, I was tech support. He feels the palm of her hand against his cheek. Feels her thumb tracing his eyebrow just where mere weeks ago fresh stitches had been. She looks directly in his eyes and he can spot the moment she realizes how close they are.

Before she can pull her hand away, he grabs ahold of it and feathers a kiss to the inside of her wrist. Right on her pulse point. He hears her breath hitch for a second and he subconsciously braces himself for the rejection. To his surprise, she leans into and whispers breathless “Do you have any idea what effect you have on me?” He can’t help the smile spreading on his face while he mumbles “Probably the same you have on me.” against her lips before capturing them in a searing kiss.


End file.
